SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. ö The NAIA's No. 24-ranked Azusa Pacific used a 21-2 run midway through the opening half to overcome an early case of jitters and record a 79-66 GSAC victory over Westmont Tuesday night.

The Cougars found themselves down 15-7 less than 7 minutes into the game after Westmont made 3 consecutive 3-pointers, including a pair by Nicole Deal. Azusa Pacific didn't help itself either by missing 7 of its first 9 shots and committing 4 turnovers.

However, the Cougar defense tightened and freshman Allison Box came off the bench to ignite the offense as Azusa Pacific sprinted back to take a 31-19 lead after a Box buried 1 of her 4 first-half treys with 4:27 left in the half.

As has been the case in recent weeks, Box teamed with junior Jennifer Barbone to give the Cougars an unstoppable inside-outside game. Box tallied 16 first-half points, 12 of which came from beyond the 3-point arc, while Barbone chipped in 14 first half points, all in the paint.

Meanwhile the Cougar defense forced Westmont to miss 17 of its final 20 shots of the half

From there it was academic. The Cougars took a 48-22 cushion into the locker room at half time and then made 7 of their first 8 shots of the second half to maintain a 30-point lead throughout much of the second half.

The Cougars were up 69-41 with less than 9 minutes to play when Westmont went on a 3-point barrage, making 5 in a 7-minute stretch to close to within 12 at 78-66 with 30 seconds left to play. Westmont finished the game with a season-high 9 3-pointers.

Barbone, who played just 2 minutes in the second half led all players with 19 points. Box finished with 18 points in 19 minutes of play. Sophomore Charlene Simril added a season-high 12 points, all in the second half.

Westmont was paced by Shanna McGeehan's 13 points.